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ROSA WOODS / Things
Residents and staff at Woburn Masonic Care, Lower Hutt could soon face some tough decisions after the resthome owners consider closing the facility.
An uncertain future faces residents and workers at a Hutt Valley restaurant as its owners seek to rebuild the facility.
A proposed two-year project to replace the Woburn Masonic Care facility in Lower Hutt could result in 56 residents having to find new homes and some of the 45 employees finding new jobs. The facility is currently in the process of an internal investigation into the quality of its care.
The family member of a resident who asked not to be identified said he was in shock after receiving the news on Wednesday.
Rooms at other local facilities were hard to come by, they said.
“We are contemplating taking our family member home temporarily because we have no other option.”
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The Woburn Masonic management suggested rooms at another restaurant in Manor Park, but the family member said it was not acceptable.
Hutt Valley District Health Board Director of Planning and Performance Rachel Haggerty said that each week there were an average of 25 to 35 beds available in senior care centers and that demand was still not outpacing supply.
THINGS
Both are vulnerable groups in situations of confinement that are similar in some respects. However, although the coronavirus has spread through nursing homes, so far there are no cases in prisons.
Masonic Villages Trust CEO Warick Dunn said 31 residents could be relocated to a leased site in Upper Hutt. About half the staff could continue to work there.
Woburn Masonic was opened 53 years ago and no longer met modern care requirements. It was becoming more difficult to attract people to the facility, he said.
A newly constructed facility, estimated to cost more than $ 20 million, would ensure that the company could continue to provide care services to seniors in the area for another 50 years.
About 120 residents in the 86 associated Woburn Apartments next door would not be affected, Dunn said.
E tū Health Director Sam Jones said staff were also informed of the proposal on Wednesday. l
“We’re really heartbroken, this is on the table,” Jones said.
It was especially disappointing because the workers had been in collective bargaining talks with the owners for the past two years. Very few had historical provisions for redundancy, he said.
The union was looking to work with the Hutt Valley District Health Board to ensure workers and residents were supported.
In the event the house closes, Dunn said there would be an opportunity for staff to be reassigned to other Masonic residences in the lower North Island and to the rented facility. Others could face redundancy.
Consultation with staff will take place this month. Decisions about the future of the facility will be made after that.
Haggerty led the quality of care review at Woburn Masonic.
The investigation began after the Commissioner of Health and Disabilities received and investigated four complaints related to communication, care, and conduct at the facility.
Since then, the commissioner had closed his investigation. The current review was due to be completed in November.
Dunn said the reconstruction proposal had not been informed by the investigation.
